A vehicle contains various information and communication devices whose displays and information need to be presented. The size of the display panels that can be accommodated in the vehicle, so that particularly the driver of the vehicle can read off the displays, is very limited. To present the many and diverse operator control and display options, therefore, e.g. hierarchic operator control structures are used. A hierarchic operator control structure contains a multiplicity of menus that each have various associated menu items, alphanumeric information presentations and/or graphics. When a menu item is selected, a menu on a lower level of the hierarchic operator control structure, what is known as a submenu, opens. This submenu in turn comprises a plurality of submenu items. This structure can be continued over a plurality of hierarchy levels, so that the result is a complex ramification for the display on the display panel. Despite the complexity of the operator control structure, the user is intended to be able to use the operator control apparatus in the vehicle simply and intuitively.
Illustrative embodiments provide an operator control method and an operator control apparatus of the type stated at the outset that provide facilitated operator control for the user.